


Proposition

by wordsonthepage (tryingtostorytime)



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: F/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Moana, actual demiguy Maui, he is tired let him rest, maui cannot handle how chill motonui is with sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 09:43:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9715847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryingtostorytime/pseuds/wordsonthepage
Summary: A thousand years makes a lot of difference when comparing the mortal cultures of then and now. It takes some getting used to.(Alternative Title: The people of Motonui keep asking him for sex. Maui is not amused.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> So we all know there's the lyric 'I'm just an ordinary demiguy,' so I kind of wanted to write a fic that went with it.

With a huff and a puff, a demigod barged through the foliage and into a clearing. At the same time, a young woman calmly swayed to the sounds of nature, ankles submerged in the calm waves past the shoreline.  
  
Moana glanced briefly over her shoulder, dancing undeterred, and smiled pleasantly. It wasn't unnatural for the demigod to seek her out first thing whenever he visited the island.  
  
"Maui!"  
  
The demigod scowled.  
  
Her smile vanished, along with customary greetings of 'haven't seen you in ages' and 'how do you do's. "What's up with you? You're in a mood."  
  
Silently, Maui set his hook to the side and plopped down on a nearby, well-placed boulder (literally - he dumped it there some months past upon realizing how much time they spent hanging around the place). He mulled over his words for a couple more seconds, then relented.  
  
"It's your villagers," he grumbled.  
  
Moana, brimming with protective chiefly instincts, immediately took offense. She whipped around, lowered her arms, and pinned him with a look that did not tolerate any bad-mouthing of her citizens.  
  
Her expression softened quickly enough looking at his own face. It didn't seem like this was just some unjust complaint. Rather, he looked frustrated. Antsy.

And the oddest thing about it was that he seemed preoccupied at looking at anything other than her.  
  
Moana picked up her skirts and waded over. "What happened?" she inquired in her best compassionate-chief voice.  
  
Although Maui technically wasn't a villager and technically she had no responsibility over his welfare, his visits had become such a regular fixture over the years that her people had grown to treat him like one. And even if he wasn't, he was still her friend. If Motonui's citizens had been giving him a problem and it was in her power to solve it, then she definitely wanted to know.  
  
Yet the demigod stalled, seemingly focused on rubbing out a spot of non-existant dirt on the handle of his hook. Giving up, he gestured to the ocean. "So," he said with forced nonchalance. "How long have you guys been hula-ing here today?"  
  
If this was an aversion, Moana decided that she could afford to answer it. But if it turned out Maui intended to skirt his issue entirely - well. She was no match for physical strength, but when it came to the matter of words and persuasion, there was no doubt she could wrestle the train of conversation to her submission.  
  
"Almost two hours, I think? It's my day-off," she added quickly at Maui's raise of eyebrow. "Which is ridiculous, really - how can someone just stop being chief when it's in your blood? But dad has been getting restless recently."  
  
She wrung her hands, evidently resigned to her status. "Mom thinks that some leading will do him some good - so, for today, all executive power is with reinstated Chief Tui, please leave a message at the fale tele, thank you very much."  
  
"Ah," Maui said knowingly, averting his eyes every time Moana tried shifting into his line of sight. "Mid-life crisis."  
  
"What would you know," she shot back and grinned without malice. She was hardly worried about the longevity of her parents - the three hour lecture her father had delivered to some lesson-skipping rascals days back assured her of his clean slate of health.  
  
Nah, at this point she more found herself wondering if demigods even had the concept of mid-life crisis. And, if so, whether Maui was currently going through one himself. It would certainly explain the attitude.  
  
(Trying to examine Mini-Maui for hints wasn't helping - he too seemed determined not to look the direction of her counterpart. Mini-Moana, on the other hand, offered a sympathetic shrug. Clearly she knew what exactly plagued the boys, but it was up to real her to get them to fess up.)  
  
Thankfully, it turned out that real Maui was getting to a point after all. He tossled his hair with a weary groan.  
  
"Well. It explains why you didn't run into them. Uh. I'm not going to name any names, but I ran into two of your villagers on the way here."  
  
"Oh." Moana blinked, not comprehending the significance.  
  
Maui scowled again and fiddled with a lock of his hair. "They were... together. _Together-together_ ," he emphasized.  
  
And then it clicked. "Oh!" Moana repeated amicably, tilting her head to show that she was following. "Okay. So they were having sex."  
  
This didn't seem to be the reaction the demigod expected, if the silence that followed was anything to go by.  
  
The good news was that it seemed to shock him into actually looking back at her.  
  
(Relief washed over her system at this, along with a strange giddiness she'd been stubbornly ignoring the past few months. Sorting out weird emotions and noticing the color of his eyes can wait, Moana.)  
  
Now she waited for her friend to calmly continue; somewhere down the road was the crux of his problem, and she was determined to solve it.  
  
Instead, Maui exploded.  
  
" _Why are you not grossed out?!_ " He leapt from his seat and threw his hands in the air. "They were just...! Not to mention the _noises_ and the...! _They were barely even off the path!_ "  
  
Moana nodded apologetically in behalf of her people's inconvenience. "Yeah, that tends to happen sometimes. You just have to circle around - if you give a wide enough berth they tend not to notice you're even there."  
  
Maui was looking at her strangely now. Suddenly, his expression shifted as if he just solved a puzzle in his mind. "Let me get this straight," he pronounced slowly. "Sex isn't that much of a taboo thing with you guys, is it?"  
  
Moana burst out laughing. Seeing the look on his face, however, she knew this garnered a verbal reply. "Of course not!" she wheezed, brushing away some hair that strayed in her outburst.  
  
Sex education was a staple learning topic for kids long before they reached puberty in Motonui. The act was welcomed, not only for their people's survival, but also to encourage mutual pleasure and connection between townsfolk. The elders had seen nothing wrong with making sure everyone, from an early age, knew the what, how, and why these things happened.  
  
Not that she had shown particular interest herself until recently. But still. Something to keep in mind of in the grand scheme of things. And it did happen rather frequently and got troublesome when people were at it out in public - maybe, Moana figured, she can pitch an ordinance to the elders and discourage it in areas with foot traffic.  
  
Meanwhile, with his new understanding Maui began pacing around, frustration transformed into exasperation.  
  
"That explains why so many people have been throwing themselves at me since I got here! All this time thinking it'd be _weird_ to bring it up-- Do you have _any idea_ how many of your people strut up on a daily basis to ask me to hanky panky?"  
  
He wheeled around, shoving a hand with the corresponding number of fingers raised in her face. Moana didn't flinch, for better or worse used to his larger than life antics.  
  
" _At least three_!" he despaired. "Today I've already had two and it's not even midday!"  
  
"It's a compliment," Moana pointed out, gently brushing his arm aside.  
  
Maui snorted and waved past her.  
  
"Okay, I did find it kinda flattering the first few offers. Weird, definitely, goes without sayin', but it's nice to get noticed, right? But c'mon! It's like you people are obsessed!"  
  
"Obsessed?" she repeated, far too amused by his indignation to be offended this time.  
  
" _Obsessed!_ " he exclaimed shamelessly. Sand billowed with each stomp as he paced the shoreline, animatedly miming his thoughts. "Listen, this is usually how it pans out: I arrive on your island, someone walks up to me and I'd start thinking: aw yeah, here we go, someone wants me to help them out, or tell them another one of my stories-"  
  
"But it turns out they want you to do... other things with your mouth instead." Moana snickered behind a closed hand.  
  
He rebuked her with an unimpressed glare.  
  
"What's the problem anyway?" Moana remarked. "There are tons of guys who would consider themselves lucky to be in your position, I'd bet. Three girls a day asking you out!"  
  
"Hmph! Not... not all of them were female." Maui admitted.  
  
Moana's grin widened. "Twice as lucky, then!"  
  
Unimpressed was reduced to a simpering sort of look, almost a glare.  
  
"Moana," he demanded. "Get them. To _stop_."  
  
Slowly, with a considerable effort, Moana's smirk faded. She had her fun. But over the course of the teasing, she had started to get an inkling of Maui's state of mind. Her next few words, she knew, she had to phrase carefully.  
  
She stepped up and clamored onto the seat he just abandoned, hands folding over her lap in a way she knew made her look wiser.  
  
"I don't think I can," Moana confessed truthfully. And the disappointment that radiated from the demigod was unmistakable.  
  
She continued, "Things were... different a thousand years ago, huh?"  
  
A sigh and uncomfortable side glance were answer plenty.  
  
"But I'm serious when I said it's meant to be taken as a compliment," Moana insisted. "It's like... me telling you that your hair looks very nice today, Sir Demigod."  
  
"Yeah?" Maui automatically perked up despite the context, and unconsciously she couldn't help the fond upward curve of her lips at having caused it.  
  
"See? It's meant to be taken as good thing. I'm not sure how humans perceived sex and all the last time you were around," she admitted, "but when my people offer you the ' _hanky panky_ '," (air quotes were made) "it's simply because they're saying, 'Hey Maui, we think you're really cool and this shows we mean it'."  
  
"... What." He squinted eyes at her disbelievingly.  
  
"My people wouldn't offer themselves to just anybody!" Moana said meaningfully. "Literally, they're just paying you compliments. It's one of the ways our culture knows how. So asking them to stop is a bit like... telling them to stop being nice to others."  
  
She squinted back at him. "Do you get what I'm saying?"  
  
It took a while for Maui to digest her explanation, uncharacteristically silent. She watched patiently as he settled down on the sand by her boulder, resting his elbows on his knees and chin in his hand.  
  
His tattoos, she noticed, were rather subdued today. The only discernable movement she could find was a proud thumbs-up from Mini-Moana for having wayfinded through the apparently uncomfortable topic.  
  
Now that she thought about it, the dark designs contrasted very nicely against his skin in the sunlight. They outlined the curves of his muscles all the way down, almost as if inviting to discover just how far they--  
  
Moana flushed. Now where did that come from?  
  
No, of course she knew where, her brain replied cheerfully. They had just been talking about sex. Which reminded Moana of the occasional fantasy she would entertain in her off hours involving the very person sitting next to---  
  
Suddenly determined to shut down all thoughts of the demigod, Moana quickly focused her attentions to her other best friend, the water.  
  
Wow. Look at that horizon. The waves rolling in their approach. And what an opportunity, to admire the white weblike patterns of foam that would emerge each time a wave crested the shore. Totally not anything resembling the dark tattoos of a demigod seated merely two paces away and easy enough to reach out and tou---  
  
Anyway, back to the ocean, Moana thought forcefully. Very blue, very pretty. Rather calm in this weather. And she was proud of it today. So far it hadn't tried messing with Maui in his state of mind.  
  
Moana groaned and buried her face in her hands. Luckily, the demigod faced the opposite way and remained oblivious.  
  
"If that's the case..."  
  
She lifted her head a little to peer at him. Maui was frowning sourly, and had gotten to doodling on the sand with a stick.  
  
"... I've been coming off as a jerk by turning them down all the time, haven't I?"  
  
Moana considered this. "Well, yes," she confessed hesitantly, also leaning her chin on hand and tilting sideways, hair spilling over her shoulder. "No one usually turns down an offer - it's not like it has any long-lasting implications."  
  
"Don't humans get pregnant anymore? Or start rampaging whenever marriages are involved? C'mon kid, you've heard the stories." He grimaced. "How many times has the world been this close to devastation just because of divine infidelity?"  
  
"Not a kid," she reminded absently, defending her two decades of life and capability as chief on reflex. "And pregnancies are a good thing with Motonui. No problem there." Moana smiled, recalling her latest batch of dancing students with pride - they were practically toddlers, yet have been breezing through learning one of their tribal chants.  
  
"As for marriages - ah, yeah, that can be a exception," she verified. "If couples choose to be monogamous, news travels fast and other people generally don't bother asking anymore. Like my parents," she added as an example.  
  
"Other marriages are more lenient if they want to be. I've heard that after dad was born, Gramma Tala spent years fooling around."  
  
She rolled her eyes, fondly remembering what a character her grandmother had been. "Grampa didn't mind - in fact, he was just as bad. All put together, I think my dad has... nine siblings? Ten?"  
  
Maui shook his head incredulously and looked out to the sea. "Mortals!"  
  
Yet as it was bound to happen, he eventually released a long sigh of resigned acceptance. Then quite suddenly, he made to lean back, intending to rest against the boulder behind him.  
  
However, Moana failed to adjust in time and the demigod bumped against her legs - he whirled his head around to comment, but by the time his mouth was open, the sound had died out. In fairness, Moana too was suddenly at a loss for words.  
  
They've always had a good concept of personal space. She never realized it just how instinctive it had been, back during their quest to return the heart of Te Fiti so many years ago despite the cramped size of her boat.  
  
A certain distance maintained between her and the demigod's interactions. Touching was fine but never really happened longer than necessary: usually just taps on the shoulder or pats on the head, on occasion even the pulling of the ear whenever his stories got a little too questionable. Tickling, shoving, outright tripping, and even the rare hug happened too, but with boundaries that never got crossed when it came to the waist or Moana's chest.  
  
But in an accidental instant, something in their unspoken guidelines had shattered.  
  
Face-to-face, they had never been closer, only a hand's width away. Nothing was said or heard, save for the constant waves and each other's breathing. And, for a good few seconds, neither of them gave any inclination of pulling away.  
  
That was, until it turned out Moana had inconveniently been sitting on a patch of moss this entire time and her awkward position sent her slipping and tumbling down to the sand.  
  
Stubbornly repressing her mortification, the off-duty chief uprighted herself and ignored the breathless guffaws booming through the air beside her. She grudgingly appreciated it, however, when a large hand reached out and helpfully brushed off a large spattering of sand on her upper arm.  
  
"Still green as ever!" Maui sang gleefully. "C'mon Mo, if you're going to beat my record, you've got to hold yourself better than that."  
  
"What record?" Moana snapped, dusting off the patterns of her skirt as Maui worked on shaking sand out of her hair.  
  
"With how many people trying to get you to frolic in the bushes with 'em," he replied, a familiar smirk finding home on the trickster's face. "Since I can't get rid of 'em, might as well make it a game. So, how well are you fending them off these days, Curly? Around two a day, I'm guessin'?"  
  
Moana shook her head absently, working her way up to her forearms. "Nah. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't get any at all, Maui."  
  
Maui made a little noise of outrage. "What? Why? You're the best mortal I know. And you're pretty enough."  
  
He paused after saying this with hand still in her hair, almost wondering why he had phrased it that particular manner. But Moana didn't give him time to do so, distracted by dusting off the last of her sand troubles.  
  
"Chief's blood," Moana replied simply and crossed her legs, as if it explained everything.  
  
"Ah, I see," Maui said, nodding matter-of-factly when she didn't further elaborate. "Chief Tui murders suitors who dare approach his daughter, and covers you with guts and blood and stuff to deter further attempts to corrupt-- ow, ow, hey!"  
  
He laughed again, catching Moana's fist before it made contact with his stomach a second time.  
  
"Which means that," Moana growled, "since I'm next in line for chief, my firstborn is eventually getting that distinction too." Her lessons, ingrained in her for as long as she could remember, kicked in. It got her reciting word for word.  
  
"It's preferable that this child will be the result of a union beneficial to Motonui's future - in other words, an arranged marriage. Let's say, the chief's son of a trading partner now that we're wayfinding again. Or the best hunter or fisherman in the village," she listed pointedly.  
  
"In summary, everyone knows: daughter of the chief. Enforced virginity. No use in trying. Therefore, I'm disqualified from your little game. You're supposed to know these things, Maui!"  
  
"... Guess some things don't change in a thousand years after all," Maui said, voice remarkably soft. His gaze searched her face, expression unreadable. "Are you okay with all that, though? Everything you just- you know. That arranged marriage deal."  
  
Moana softened. "It's something I've known since the get go," she non-answered and shrugged. "Mom made sure I knew the perks and cons of the job growing up... Not a hundred percent fine with it. But I've accepted it. Everything's the way it is for the good of the island."  
  
She nudged the demigod with an elbow and grinned a little - didn't exactly reach her eyes, but she hoped it would ease his concerns.  
  
But his expression didn't change, his eyes continuing to bore holes in her head.  
  
Seconds passed, and Moana began to get uncomfortable. "And hey," she tried in a chipper tone to lighten the mood. "The plus side is that I consider myself already won when it comes to your silly game."  
  
Maui's look did change then; he raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I," Moana stated triumphantly, "don't have to deal with your kind of advances. At all."  
  
He groaned and pulled back (had he been holding her hand the entire time? Moana instinctively wanted a redo - she hadn't been paying attention the first time). "Yeah, that actually sounds like the winning deal after all," he gave in.  
  
Without warning, he leapt to his feet, swiping up his hook into his hands before hitting the ground and sending a cloud of sand over his outraged companion.  
  
"Alright, fine! No use dwelling on it. Change topic," he declared in demigod-like grandeur. He spun his hook around in a couple of well-practiced tricks, faced Moana, and waggled his brow invitingly.  
  
"So. You wanna hear what I was up to the last three months?"  
  
Here we go again, Moana thought and rolled her eyes with a fond smile.  
  
"To no good, probably," she retorted. "Don't tell me. You got... face-to-face with a monster and..."  
  
The smile developed into a smirk. "In order to survive, you had to cover yourself with guts! And blood! And stuff! To fend off its scary minions! Oh no, the poor hero demigod, reduced to the grossness of - no way, really?" she gasped at the sudden disappearance of smugness on Maui's face.  
  
"To be completely honest," Maui began gravely, wielding his hook in his dominant hand. He held it forward with slow ceremony, inspecting it for any undesirable remains.  
  
And then, quite abruptly, he bopped its blunt side gently onto Moana's head. "That's not what happened at all. I dub thee, Princess Wrong-A-Lot of Motonui." He winked. "Nice try though!"  
  
Covering her head with both hands to ward off any further coronations, Moana scowled and Maui shuffled away from possible physical retaliation, cackling happily as he launched into the actual details of the shenanigans he had gotten into.

Soon enough, the ire was gone and Moana was spellbound, entranced by his descriptions of strange lands and awesome foes, and eventually couldn't help but join in his mirth as well.  
  
And that was all it took. News was shared, stories were told, and the two friends chatted well until it was the call of dinnertime, the seriousness of the earlier conversation dissolving into nothingness.  
  
Things were back to the way they should be...

[Chapter One End] 

×××××

[Chapter Two Preview] 

... at least, that was what Moana tried to convince herself, initially. 

**Author's Note:**

> No offense intended to those who enjoy/write fic about sex-positive Maui!!  
> Actually, shameless plug, but [Owlship](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlship/pseuds/Owlship) writes some really fantastic fics about that!! Respect, dude. Keep on doing what you're doing. (P.S. Mind the archive warnings tho! Some might not be to everyone's taste.)
> 
> (Another shameless plug: I gots a [writing Tumblr!](https://breakfastlunchbooksanddinner.tumblr.com/) Barely has anything in it. It's great.)


End file.
